CONNECTOR FOR RELEASABLY COUPLING TWO WHEELED-CARTS
A connector for releasably attaching two wheeled-carts, wherein one can be a stroller and the other can be a wheelchair. The connector comprises an elongated body that forms an arm that is configured to be foldable, detachable or combination of both foldable and detachable, a first clamp connected to one end of the arm via a joint member, a locking arrangement for enabling to lock the arm in an unfolded position, and a second clamp connected to the other end of the arm.
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The present invention relates to the field of wheeled-carts coupling. More particularly, the invention relates to a device for enabling to releasably connecting one wheel-cart to another, such as a wheelchair to a stroller.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe daily routine of people with disabilities is highly affected by the capability to perform simple tasks such as maneuvering a shopping-cart in a supermarket, or steering a stroller. For example, people confined to a wheelchair may find it quite challenging to steer a stroller. In the prior-art several attempts were made in order to ease the challenge. For example, the Cursum stroller concept aims to make life a little easier by adapting to use in tandem with a wheelchair. However, such a solution cannot be used by many popular types of existing strollers, or it requires performing modifications in the structure of the stroller.
Other solutions refer to the field of connecting wheelchairs to shopping carts, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,870,209 and 6,702,313. However, such solutions lack the ability to enable a better steering of a stroller. Moreover, applying such solutions to a stroller will prevent an appropriate folding of the stroller as long as the devices of such solutions are attached to the stroller.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for enabling to releasably connecting a wheelchair to a stroller in a way that will overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that enables a user to operate it in one hand.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a device that is capable of relatively fast releasing a wheelchair form a stroller, in order to enable immediate response and access to a baby located in the stroller.
Other advantages and objects of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a connector for releasably attaching a first wheeled-cart to a second wheeled-cart, comprising:
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- a) an elongated body that forms an arm;
- b) a first clamp connected to one end of the arm via a joint member, wherein said joint member enables relative movement of said arm in at least one degree of freedom;
- c) a locking arrangement for locking said arm in a folded or in an unfolded position; and
- d) a second clamp connected to the other end of said arm, wherein the first clamp is adapted to be coupled to the first wheeled-cart and the second clamp is adapted to be releasably attached to the second wheeled-cart when said arm is locked in an unfolded position, wherein said second clamp is adapted to be quickly released from said second wheeled-cart.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second clamp is releasably attached to the second wheeled-cart via an adapter that is adapted to be mounted on the second wheeled-cart.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the adapter comprises attachment means for mounting the adapter on a desired location on the second wheeled-cart and a body section or an element that is adapted to enable the second clamp to be releasably attached to said adapter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the length of the elongated body is adjustable.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connector further comprises telescopic arrangement for adjusting the length of the elongated body.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first wheeled-cart is a stroller and the second wheeled-cart is a wheelchair.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, attaching the stroller to the wheelchair results in lifted rear wheels of the first wheeled-cart.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connector is provided with a quick-release locking pin mechanism for enabling a single action disengagement of the first wheeled cart from the arm which remain connected to the second wheeled-cart.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the locking pin is provided with a securement measure, utilized to avoid undesired loss of said pin when it is not pulled out.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second clamp comprises a spring loaded hinge mechanism for enabling an automatic secured engagement with the corresponding adapter of the second wheeled-cart.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second clamp comprises a lifting handle, which allows the one-hand lifting of said connector together with the first wheeled-cart and to be engaged or disengaged with the corresponding adapter of the second wheeled-cart—in a single action.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the locking arrangement for locking said arm in a folded or in an unfolded position is a slideable sleeve arrangement.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the arm folding is adjustable in angular steps, by a folding mechanical arrangement, such as cog wheels mechanism, latching pins and jagged base plate arrangements.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the arm folding angle is continuously adjustable, by a folding mechanical arrangement, such as joining leadscrew (e.g., jackscrew) and clutch plates mechanisms.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first clamp is designed to connect to a substantially horizontal (i.e., relative to ground) structural member of the first wheeled-cart and orthogonal to the intended travel direction of wheeled cart, wherein said structural member can be of various cross section shapes and diameters.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the structural member is the rear axle of the first wheeled-cart.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connector is provided with at least one anti-swivel measure for preventing the swivel of the rear axle of the first wheeled-cart inside the first clamp.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connector is provided with an auxiliary bar which is designed to be coupled to the first wheel-cart, thus providing an alternative connection point of the first clamp to the first wheeled-cart (e.g., when the first wheeled-cart is not provided with a rear axle).
In the drawings:
The present invention relates to a connector for releasably attaching two wheeled-carts. According to an embodiment of the invention the connector comprises an elongated body that forms an arm that is configured to be foldable, detachable or combination of both foldable and detachable, a first clamp connected to one end of the arm via a joint member, a locking arrangement for enabling to lock the arm in an unfolded position, and a second clamp connected to the other end of the arm. The joint member enables relative movement of the arm in at least one degree of freedom. The first clamp is adapted to be coupled to a first wheeled-cart and the second clamp is adapted to be releasably attached to a second wheeled-cart when the arm is locked in an unfolded position. According to an embodiment of the invention, the second clamp can be directly attached to the second wheeled-cart or indirectly via an adapter that is adapted to be mounted on the second wheeled-cart. The adapter comprises attachment means (e.g., a clamp) for mounting the adapter on the desired location on the second wheeled-cart and a body section or an element that is adapted to enable the second clamp to be releasably attached to the adapter. For example, the first wheeled-cart can be a stroller and the second wheeled-cart can be a wheelchair.
Reference will now be made to several embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures. Wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures and may indicate similar or like functionality. The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, arm 10 of
Adapter 11 comprises the following parts: a wheelchair clamp 14 and an elongated portion 15 on which second clamp 7a can be engaged to (i.e., via an opening that is formed by a section of clamp 7a and a section of trigger-latch handle 7b as indicated by numeral 12 in
According to an embodiment of the present invention, trigger-latch handle 7b enables an automatic engagement of clamp 7a with adapter 11 by capturing elongated portion 15 within opening 12. For example, clamp 7a and trigger-latch handle 7b can be configured in such a way that the automatic engagement of clamp 7a with adapter 11 is enabled by using a spring loaded latch. On the other way, trigger-latch handle 7b enables to manually disconnect clamp 7a from adapter 11 by enabling to release elongated portion 15 out of opening 12. For example, clamp 7a and trigger-latch handle 7b can be configured in such a way that the unlocking of second clamp 7a is enabled when trigger-latch handle 7b is pressed against the body of clamp 7a, while releasing trigger-latch handle 7b automatically locks clamp 7a. The joint member designed to allow relative movement of the elongated body 6 in at least one degree of freedom (as best seen in
Connector 100 can be used as a universal device that enables to connect different types of wheeled-carts such as wheelchairs and wheeled-carts such as strollers of various designs. In addition, the universality of connector 100 is also reflected in the ability of adjusting and fitting to different users' heights, as will be described in further details hereinafter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, connector 100 may further comprise inner-clamp adapters, such as the abovementioned adapter 1 of clamp 2 and such as adapter 9 that is sized and configured to fit the inner section 16 of clamp 14, thus enabling the coupling of foldable arm 10 to different forms and diameters of strollers' frames and to different forms and diameters of wheelchairs' frames, respectively.
The arrangement described in the figures results in a lift mechanism, such upon the engagement of both elements of connector 100, the rear wheels 103 of stroller 101 are being raised above the ground (e.g., about 2-3 cm above the ground level), as indicated by the dotted line 104 in
An additional advantage provided by the present invention is the ability to fold the stroller without needing to disconnect the foldable arm 10 from the stroller, but only turning the foldable arm into a folded position as best seen in
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the length of foldable arm 10 can be adjusted by replacing elongated body 6 with a longer or shorter member as schematically illustrated in
Handle 28 enables a quick single action releasing latch 27b by lifting handle 28 and consequently the stroller. This can be done by easily pulling up handle 28 (even with only one hand). While pulling up handle 28, it can further be used as a lever to lift arm 20 and consequently the stroller.
The permanent lifting of the rear wheels of stroller 101 after coupling arm 20 to wheel chair 102 (i.e., as best shown in
Some embodiments of the present invention utilize a foldable or extractable protruding member which is provided as one part or as an add-on attachment with clamp 22a, adapter 1, or with similar embodiments of adapter 1 (i.e., such as adapter 1a or 1b) which when unfolded or extracted it interacts with a fixed structural member of stroller 101 for preventing the swivel of the stroller's rear axle.
Of course, many different designs of similar swivel limiting arrangement can be provided for limiting the swivel in one or in both directions, with a single or with more than one protruding elements, which can suitably selected by the skilled person in the art.
Some strollers may be provided without bar 105, i.e., with independent rear wheels which are not interconnected.
A broad variety of folding and angle adjustment and locking arrangements can be utilized in embodiments of the present invention of three main categories:
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- Two states arrangements (i.e., folded or unfolded) such as the slideable sleeve 5 of
FIGS. 1, 9A and 9B ; - Angular steps adjustment arrangements, such as the cog wheel mechanism 23 of
FIGS. 12A, 14A, 14B and 16 and additional arrangements such as latching pins arrangement (i.e., corresponding preset holes in the proximal extremities of arm 20 and clamp 22 are coupled with locking pins to accomplish the desirable folding angle as shown inFIGS. 17A and 17B ) and jagged base plate arrangement (i.e., jagged base plate is connected to arm 20, a desirable angle is selected as allowed by the cogs pitch followed by fastening the base plate onto clamp 22—as shown inFIGS. 18A-18C ). - Continuous angular adjustment arrangements, such as a jackscrew mechanism (shown in
FIGS. 19A and 19B ), a joining leadscrew mechanism (shown inFIG. 20 ) or a Clutch plates arrangement (shown inFIG. 21 )
- Two states arrangements (i.e., folded or unfolded) such as the slideable sleeve 5 of
Connect & Release actions of the stroller and the wheelchair using connector 100 of the present invention can be achieved in several ways. For example:
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- To connect the stroller to the wheelchair—the user may lift the stroller handle and position clamp 7a of arm 10 (or clamp 27a of arm 20) on elongated portion 15 of adapter 11;
- To disconnect the stroller from the wheelchair using arm 10—the user may press trigger-latch handle 7a towards arm 10 & than lift one arm at a time;
- To disconnect the stroller from the wheelchair using arm 20—the user may open each handle 28, one at a time, keeping each handle 28 in an open position by magnetic fastener or snap on wheelchair (e.g., as described hereinabove with respect to magnet 29 in
FIGS. 15A and 15B ). - Further quick disconnection option of the stroller from arm 20 and the wheelchair is pulling pin 25, thus leaving clamps 22 attached to the stroller.
All the above description and examples have been given for the purpose of illustration and are not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Many different coupling and engagement mechanisms can be employed, all without exceeding the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A connector for releasably attaching a first wheeled-cart to a second wheeled-cart, comprising:
- a) an elongated body that forms an arm;
- b) a first clamp connected to one end of the arm via a joint member, wherein said joint member enables relative movement of said arm in at least one degree of freedom;
- c) a locking arrangement for locking said arm in a folded or in an unfolded position; and
- d) a second clamp connected to the other end of said arm, wherein the first clamp is adapted to be coupled to the first wheeled-cart and the second clamp is adapted to be releasably attached to the second wheeled-cart when said arm is locked in an unfolded position, wherein said second clamp is adapted to be quickly released from said second wheeled-cart.
2. The connector according to claim 1, in which the second clamp is releasably attached to the second wheeled-cart via an adapter that is adapted to be mounted on the second wheeled-cart.
3. The connector according to claim 2, in which the adapter comprises attachment means for mounting the adapter on a desired location on the second wheeled-cart and a body section or an element that is adapted to enable the second clamp to be releasably attached to said adapter.
4. The connector according to claim 1, in which the length of the elongated body is adjustable.
5. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising telescopic arrangement for adjusting the length of the elongated body.
6. The connector according to claim 1, in which the first wheeled-cart is a stroller and the second wheeled-cart is a wheelchair.
7. The connector according to claim 1, in which attaching the stroller to the wheelchair results in lifted rear wheels of the first wheeled-cart.
8. The connector according to claim 1, provided with a quick-release locking pin mechanism for enabling a single action disengagement of the first wheeled cart from the arm which remain connected to the second wheeled-cart.
9. The connector according to claim 8, in which the locking pin is provided with a securement measure, utilized to avoid undesired loss of said pin when it is not pulled out.
10. The connector according to claim 2, in which the second clamp comprises a spring loaded hinge mechanism for enabling an automatic secured engagement with the corresponding adapter of the second wheeled-cart.
11. The connector according to claim 2, in which the second clamp comprises a lifting handle, which allows the one-hand lifting of said connector together with the first wheeled-cart and to be engaged or disengaged with the corresponding adapter of the second wheeled-cart—in a single action.
12. The connector according to claim 1, in which the locking arrangement for locking said arm in a folded or in an unfolded position is a slideable sleeve arrangement.
13. The connector according to claim 1, in which the arm folding is adjustable in angular steps, by a folding mechanical arrangement, such as cog wheels mechanism, latching pins and jagged base plate arrangements.
14. The connector according to claim 1, in which the arm folding angle is continuously adjustable, by a folding mechanical arrangement, such as joining leadscrew (e.g., jackscrew) and clutch plates mechanisms.
15. The connector according to claim 1, in which the first clamp is designed to connect to a substantially horizontal (i.e., relative to ground) structural member of the first wheeled-cart and orthogonal to the intended travel direction of wheeled cart, wherein said structural member can be of various cross section shapes and diameters.
16. The connector according to claim 15, in which the structural member is the rear axle of the first wheeled-cart.
17. The connector according to claim 16, provided with at least one anti-swivel measure for preventing the swivel of the rear axle inside the first clamp.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 21, 2019
Publication Date: Jan 28, 2021
Patent Grant number: 11220281
Applicant: FREEWILL LTD (Pardes Hana-Karkur)
Inventors: Jonathan BAR-OR , Dana YICHYE SHWACHMAN
Application Number: 15/733,617